Tantibus
"It is said that light cannot exist without shadow, let's see if the reverse is true." -Tantibus to Tasorin, Brotherhood In Arms book three. Tantibus is a crafty and powerful Toa of Shadow. He is a former hero who was corrupted by "Shadow Kraita" early in his life. He was unaffected by them till several years later, when he betrayed his brothers to Makuta Teridax. Tantibus is aware of his actions, but he can do nothing against them. His power exceed that of a normal Toa of Shadow. Biography: Tantibus was an Av-matoran that was placed on Kysian Nui during the Time Slip. Makuta Keera noticed the new presence on the nearby island and investigated, finding the Av-matoran in his home. Keera abducted him and brought him back to his personal mountain laboratory on his island, where he decided to test a new creature he had created. He named them "Shadow Stealers", a predecessor to the shadow leeches. He used them on Tantibus, resulting in him becoming a shadow matoran, but without the dark personality and desire for evil. Keera was disappointed that his experiment failed, and literally tossed Tantibus out the window. Tantibus survived the thousand foot fall with minimal injuries due the mutagen effects of the Shadow Kraita. He rose to his feet and rushed around the base of the mountain in time to see matoran escaping from the laboratory. He saw two matoran running faster then the rest and followed them for several days. He manged to find a Toa stone hidden in the hollow he slept in one night, and thought nothing of it, but brought it along anyway. He continued following the two matoran until they reached a small abandoned village. Tantibus saw that they each carried a Toa stone, and revealed himself to them. After their initial reaction to his appearance, he explained what had happened. They greeted him warmly and said their names were Tasorin and Lithal. Shortly after they were joined by four more matoran, each of them carried a Toa stone as well. They went to the Toa Suva in the center of the village, and were transformed into Toa. Tantibus became a Toa of Shadow, Motakku became a Toa of air, Kyxien became a Toa of Protosteel, Magnam became a Toa of Fire, Water, and Earth, Sythen became a Toa of Metal, Tasorin became a Toa of Fire, Water, and Stone, And Lithal became a Toa of Lightning, Water and Gravity. Tantibus was pleased with his new-found powers and became the team's recon specialist, and his brothers accepted him despite his shadow powers. Tasorin and Lithal set off on their own for a few days. During the week that they were gone, Lithal came to Tantibus and their brothers and brought them to the area where Tasorin was training with Pyran, Lithal explained that while neither had ever seen Pyran, everything he had taught them had helped better control their powers. When Tasorin finished training he assumed leadership of his Toa team, and they went on many harrowing adventures together. But as time went on, Tantibus was beginning to show signs of his exposure to shadow stealers, mainly because Keera sensed that a connection was growing between him and Tantibus, and would occasionally pull on it, resulting in Tantibus losing control over his own body. Instead of telling his fellow Toa, Tantibus hid this, and unknown to him, iit would be his downfall. A few years later, Tantibus and his brothers were on a mission to free a group of matoran prisoners from Makuta Teridax's castle when Keera pulled harder on the mental link then ever before, and took complete control over Tantibus. Tantibus, shocked to see his body moving under Keera's command, watched in horror as he stood and proclaimed what the were doing and where every single one of his brothers was hiding and began to shoot shadow bolts at them to flush them out. Tantibus was aware of what he was saying and doing, but he couldn't regain control of his own body, he tried to call for help, but no sound would come. Keera cemented the mental link to Tantibus and permanently enslaved him to his will, then he summoned Tantibus to him, who promptly obeyed. His brothers barely escaped with their lives. When Tantibus arrived at Keera's island he was put through rigorous tests to see how far the control extended. Tantibus found that the things he would never do of his own free will, Kerra could make him do without hesitation. Keera took pleasure in this, and started to send Tantibus to do his dirty work on a daily basis. Eventually making Tantibus his personal assassin, having him eliminate almost all of the local Turaga and Warlords. Tantibus soon earned the moniker "Dark Angel", to to his shadow wings. More coming soon... Tools, Powers and Abilities: Eqipment: Tantibus wears the Kanohi Volitak, the mask of stealth. And has wielded many weapons throughout his existence, he favors his Shadow Saber and a standard protosteel shield. His Saber has been shown to actually be in two separate pieces, the larger blade being the actual sword, while the smaller blade at the hilt can be disconnected to act as a assassin's dagger. He has show expertise with other weapons as well. Powers: Being as old as he is and having centuries of experience in high risk situations, Tantibus has honed his skill as a swordsman and assassin through much experience. Prior to Keera's control, he was the only one of his team to battle any of the others to a draw, even putting Makuta Vikain to shame in a practice match. He also received training from some of the many warriors Keera keeps looked away in his dungeon, resulting in the ability to make split-second choices and also how to take out his opponents with as little effort as possible. As a Toa of Shadow, Tantibus received most of his shadow training from Makuta, resulting in access to all shadow-related powers, including shadow travel and shadow hand. He has been shown to hold vast reserves of elemental power, enough to keep him going all full power output for several days. Abilities: Tantibus has the latent ability to generate wings made of shadow energy, these wings allow long distance flight and are virtually bullet-proof. He also has the ability to make solid constructs of pure shadow energy. Keera once revealed that even he didn't know the full extent of Tantibus's powers. Saying that there may be even more latent abilities that he has yet to unlock. Personality: Prior to Keera's control, Tantibus was known to be good-hearted and ready to lay down his life to protect others. Though usually a Toa of few words, and slightly anti-social due to his shadow nature, he would not hesitate to speak out against injustice. And would often act on emotion rather then judgement. During Keera's control, Tantibus has become mentally scared by watching himself commit heinous crimes and murders. His personality at this point is unknown due to the fact he is unable to even speak unless Keera wills it. Trivia: *Tantibus is a Latin word meaning nightmare, a reference to Tantibus actually living his worst nightmare. *Tantibus's brothers are unaware of Makuta Keera's control over him, they think that he betrayed them of his own free will.